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I’ve been watching the PBS series, The War, a 6 DVD set, Directed by Ken Burns (http://www.pbs.org/thewar/).   The series covers the entire history of the buildup to and the details of minor and major battles of WW2.  Burns tells the story through the eyes of several soldiers and families from 4 U.S. towns.  These towns include Sacramento, CA, Luverne, MN, Mobile, AL, and Waterbury, CT.  Burn’s perspective  gives certainly a more organic, more rich feel to the story.  The propaganda of the victor is tossed aside to reveal the view of a frightened and tired nation; and the thought of “how did we ever win?”

The reality of the war, the brutality, heartache and hopelessness at times are truly remarkably showcased in Burn’s presentation.  While I certainly don’t delight in such themes, it does bring a certain respect for the times that were before the United States and the Allies at that time.  The sheer magnitude and scope of the war is wholly unfathomable today; the stakes for failure that faced Allied Commanders tantamount to the true end of the world as they knew it; the endless streams of telegrams bearing the names of sons, fathers, brothers who would never return.

One of the main themes in the early parts of the war that is displayed is just how unprepared the country was at that time for any war, not to mention a worldwide conflict.  The army was totally unprepared, our technology dated back to WWI, and not to mention the country was close to bankrupt from the great depression.  We were very close to pressing for surrender early on.  Only by learning from serious defeats and trudging through hard times, rallying as a nation, did we get through the tough times.  You’ve heard them mentioned before, The Greatest Generation.  They answered the call, and truly saved the world.

It makes me wonder what they might call our Generation if put in the same situation.  Would we be called the “What?…. There’s a War? Generation”, too distracted to give a care and clueless about the world they live in.  I sometimes despair when people don’t care about what the President’s doing, or know what’s really going on with the 140,00o troops in Iraq, don’t vote, and let others think for them, while letting their brains rot.  Freedom is a freedom to think, make your own judgments, not to depend on others to do all these for you.

Would we be called the “Great Compromisers” who would give away our freedom or safety just so we don’t have to fight?  Ironically this theme dominated the late 1930′s during Hitlers build up of force and initial attacks.   It was only when attacked that most American’s joined in the idea of fighting.  Would we negotiate with maniacal tyrants, or appease those who would seek to destroy us?

Even considering these,  I come back to thinking in the end, that our generation would probably do alright.  War is about survival and Americans will always know how to survive.  It’s in our blood and as much as our hapless wanna-be-dictators in Washington want to think they do everything for us, we really make this country run, we’re the ones who would save it if truly threatened.

When a nation is truly threatened, the fire to survive within is no national pride, no moral compass driving you, its the quest to kill or be killed.  To die as a nation or rise and support the fight to stay alive.  That’s what the Greatest Generation was faced with and I think if faced with the same, we would respond; but it would take a long time and countless lives to be lost before we would answer the call.  We are far to entrenched in our cocoon of comfort ripe with denial and our narcissist ways to be moved to easily.

I pray that day never comes when we are ripped from our cocoon, and have to answer the call.  To say that will never happen in our lifetimes is probably wishful thinking, but who’s to say.

http://www.pbs.org/thewar/

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